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Guy Mezger
|death = |birth_place = Born in Houston, Texas Raised in Dallas, Texas |death_place = |nationality = |height = |weight = 205 lb |reach = |fighting_out_of = Dallas, Texas |ranks = |styles = Kickboxing Judo Catch Wrestling |team = Lion's Den |trainers = |weight_class = |years_active = |kickboxing_total = 25 |kickboxing_wins = 22 |kickboxing_losses = 3 |kickboxing_draws = |mma_total = |mma_wins = 30 |mma_ko_wins = 12 |mma_sub_wins = 5 |mma_dec_wins = 13 |mma_dq_wins = |mma_losses = 14 |mma_ko_losses = 6 |mma_sub_losses = 3 |mma_dec_losses = 5 |mma_dq_losses = |mma_draws = 2 |sherdog = 14 }} Guy Mezger, also known by his nickname of The Sandman, and born January 1, 1968 in Houston, Texas, is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter, especially during his days fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships, and Pancrase. He is associated with Lion's Den, Dallas division. Mezger was a champion in mixed martial arts in two different promotions, the UFC and Pancrase. He holds wins over Tito Ortiz, Masakatsu Funaki, Yuki Kondo, Semmy Schilt, and Minoru Suzuki. Mezger has trained with many great martial arts competitors and trainer/instructors; his main trainers have been Vince Tamura (Judo), Willie Thompson (Wrestling), Billy "Jack" Jackson (Kickboxing), and Ken Shamrock (Submission Fighting/Pancrase/Mixed Martial Arts). Mezger has co-written one book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kickboxing, and had an uncredited speaking role in the first-season episode of Walker, Texas Ranger Night of the Gladiator. Biography UFC career Guy Mezger first competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors. Mezger competed against Jason Fairn as an alternate. This was the original format of the UFC, no holds barred; meaning no rules, weight classes, gloves or time limits. Before the fight Mezger had asked Fairn to make a 'gentlemen's agreement' not to pull hair due to the fact both men had long hair. During the bout, Jason knocked Mezger down with a punch. Mezger then countered with a takedown, mounted Fairn, and landed a multitude of strikes, ending the fight after the towel was thrown in by the cornerman, Patrick Smith. Mezger fought in UFC 5 against John Dowdy, defeating him by TKO in little over two minutes by mounted strikes. Guy Mezger would not return to the UFC until UFC 13: Ultimate Force, where he competed in the Lightweight Tournament (200 lbs & under). In his first bout, Mezger fought world class Judo fighter, Christophe Leninger. Leninger was able to score only one takedown and was quickly reversed, but was otherwise soundly beaten as Guy battled his way to a decision victory. Guy broke his hand during this fight but continued in the tournament regardless. The Championship round Mezger faced Tito Ortiz. Ortiz was able to counter Mezger's takedown attempt and landed several knees to Mezger's head. To some it appeared that Mezger had tapped, but referee John McCarthy ruled Mezger was blocking the knees and his hand went down as Tito shifted his weight. The bout was then stopped to check Mezger's cut. The announcers, as well as Ortiz, thought that the bout was over, but the fight was instead restarted on the feet. Ortiz shot in for a takedown, but Mezger secured a Guillotine Choke, forcing his opponent to submit. With this win, Mezger became the UFC 13 lightweight tournament champion. Mezger then forfeited his King of Pancrase title to fight in the UFC again. Mezger's final bout in the UFC was a rematch with Tito Ortiz at UFC 19: Young Guns. Mezger was sick before the fight but fought anyway, a decision that Mezger regretted after the fight. This resulted in Ortiz handling Mezger and winning the bout at the 9:55 mark by referee stoppage. Ortiz then donned a shirt that was insulting to Mezger which provoked an immediate reaction from Ken Shamrock, Mezger's trainer. Mezger would occasionally seek a rematch with Ortiz over the next few years. In 2004 he was finally granted a chance to face Tito Ortiz at UFC 50. Unfortunately, the week of the fight, Mezger was taken to the hospital due to stroke-like symptoms, and was taken off the fight card. On January 25, 2005, Guy Mezger retired from professional fighting. PRIDE FC career The former UFC champion made his debut at Pride 6 against Akira Shoji, a popular Japanese fighter, losing the fight by split decision. Pride officials then signed Mezger to fight Kazushi Sakuraba at the opening round of the Pride Grand Prix. Guy took the fight on two weeks notice and had a broken foot going into the fight. The contract that Mezger signed stipulated that the fight would be one 15-minute round with no overtime. The other fights on the card had the same stipulation. The fight mostly consisted of Mezger stopping Sakuraba's takedown attempts while landing strikes from the outside. The round ended and Mezger expected the fight to go to the judges, but Pride officials wanted the fight to go to overtime. Guy and his corner refused, citing the conditions of the contract. An argument ensued and Mezger left the ring under instructions from his corner man, Ken Shamrock. Later that night the president of Pride FC made a public apology to Mezger at the Tokyo Dome for the miscommunication. Mezger next competed against Masaaki Satake, handing the Japanese fighter his second straight loss by Unanimous Decision. Mezger made his return to the ring at Pride 10, facing Brazilian superstar Wanderlei Silva. Mezger fought hard, cutting Silva and landing several crisp combinations, but was ultimately knocked out at the 3:45 mark. In the fight, Silva threw an intentional, illegal headbutt to Mezger that eventually led to knocking Guy out. Many people felt as though this was a cheap shot that affected the end result. Guy talked about his feelings on the matter in an interview: "I am not going to cry foul, it is the fight game and things like that happen, get use to it. It is no win situation when it comes to answering that question, if I said it did then I would be making excuses. I would just like a rematch.""SFUK: Guy Mezger interview", URL accessed March 15, 2010 Mezger found a measure of redemption when he defeated Alexander Otsuka by TKO at Pride 12. Otsuka challenged Mezger to another fight, but was soundly beaten by TKO for a second time. Mezger returned again at Pride 13 to face Egan Inoue. Guy walked away with a knockout win over Inoue. Mezger then met Chuck Liddell at Pride 14. Liddell was coming off of a stunning KO over former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Kevin Randleman. Mezger gained control of the first round, scoring a knockdown, which was followed by a left kick to Liddell's face a few minutes before the bell sounded ending the first round. The second round would be short-lived as Liddell came out strong, knocking Mezger out. Guy faced two time ADCC champion Ricardo Arona at Pride 16. Mezger entered the ring with an American flag draped across his shoulders out of respect for the World Trade Center attacks in New York. Mezger also wore trunks with an American flag design. Arona and Mezger circled each other for a few moments, before moving in and exchanging strikes. Mezger ended the round one with two takedowns and side mount position but couldn't capitalize on it. The second round was much of the same until Mezger landed a stunning kick to Arona's face. The third round took a different turn with three minutes left in the round, Arona scored his only takedown of the fight. The third round continued like this, with Arona laying on Mezger, using his ground and pound style for the last three minutes of the bout. Although Mezger controlled the first two rounds (1st round being 10 minutes and the second and third rounds were 5 minutes each), the judges awarded a split decision victory to Arona. Mezger returned to competition at Pride 22 after a year long lay-off, easily winning a decision over Norihisa Yamamoto. Mezger then battled Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Pride 24. Mezger had several good striking exchanges and showcased his submission and takedown defense, but lost the fight by split decision. Retirement Mezger trains students in boxing, kickboxing and the Lion's Den Mixed Martial Arts system at his gym; "Guy Mezger's Combat Sports Club" in Dallas, Texas. Mezger is a part owner in a Movie/TV production company that is making "Reality TV" shows, action and documentary movies. Mezger has been named the President of Mark Cuban's new HDNet Fights. He is responsible for developing new talent and securing promotion partners for HDnet's Friday Night Fights. Mezger has a consulting company, CS Consulting, that works with both Federal and State law enforcement agencies on re-vamping their defensive tactics training. Mezger has commentated for Chuck Norris' full contact, team-based martial arts competition the World Combat League and for Japanese MMA organization DREAM. Personal life Guy is married and has a 19 year old son, a 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter. Championships and awards *'Ultimate Fighting Championship:' ** *'Pancrase:' ** ** * 1993 World Full-Contact Karate Champion * 1994 World Full-Contact Karate Champion * 1995 WKC World Kickboxing Champion * 1996 WFFF World Freestyle Fighting Champion (Junior-Heavyweight) MMA record References External links * *Full Contact Fighter Database with a partial record of Guy Mezger's MMA career *Guy Mezger's Freestyle Martial Arts *World Combat League *Official Myspace Page *Sherdoge interview Category:American mixed martial artists Category:King of Pancrase title holders Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament winners